Maybe you, like me, hate the seders. Fair enough. But if you do (and even if you don’t) there is a way to make them (possibly) less painful. If you have a particular pet cause that’s at all connected to the Jewish community, and especially if it’s connected to social justice in some way, chances are there’s a haggadah supplement that you can easily print out and add to your seder to make it more relevant and interesting. Here’s a little roundup of supplements (all free) that I found:
The American Jewish World Service offers a variety of resources to help you share your commitment to social justice at your seder. They include a great bunch of readings for families and children, as well as a seder reading, a Passover sourcebook, and the four questions of social justice. Download any or all of these here.
J Street works out how the Passover narrative will resonate with our global struggle to define what Israel will be in the 21st century in its seder handout and leaders guide, both available for free here.
University of Pennsylvania Hillel has put together a seder supplement through a group called Moral Voices. The supplement focuses on human trafficking, a widespread problem locally, nationally, and globally, and an issue that we might naturally consider on a day when we’re celebrating freedom. Download the supplement here.
Rabbi Michael Lerner, Editor of Tikkun, wrote a wonderful and thorough Passover supplement for the Huffington Post. The supplement is a year old, but still relevant, and very well done. Check it out. Read and print it here.
Tikkun also put out a supplement for this year, which is less hopeful than last year’s but excellent nonetheless. Get it here.
Rabbis for Human Rights provides a number of different resources to help you lead discussions about human rights in Israel and around the world at your seder table. They have a nice interfaith perspectives supplement, and one that specifically addresses Gaza. Download them here.
Jewish Funds for Justice created a supplement focused on issues surrounding immigration. It’s very good, and smoothly connects the themes of being a stranger in a strange land with the exodus. Get it here.
Want to make your seder more eco-conscious? Try this supplement by artist and illustrator Mat Tonti.
Do you just really want to skip the seder altogether and do a Passover pageant a la that awesome episode of Sports Night? You do? Well, try the free Shpieling Haggadah. Download it, print a copy for everyone, and hand out parts when people arrive. I call dibs on not being Rabban Gamliel.
seder
Pronounced: SAY-der, Origin: Hebrew, literally “order”; usually used to describe the ceremonial meal and telling of the Passover story on the first two nights of Passover. (In Israel, Jews have a seder only on the first night of Passover.)
